Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Today is a cold day, just perfect for a hearty dinner. As I stared at the contents of the refrigerator I saw sour cream and realized that beef stroganoff would be perfect. Unfortunately, I could not make my mother's recipe, the packet that I normally use was not in my cabinet...

After consulting various cookbooks, the internet and what I had on hand I came up with this version which is super tasty, easy and worth remembering.

You need:1lb beef16oz mushrooms, sliced1/2 medium onion, finely chopped4 tbs. butter, divided1/4 c. Marsala wine1 c. beef broth1 pkg. egg noodlesdash of nutmegsalt and pepper to taste12-16 oz sour cream (we'd used part of the 16oz container for fajitas a couple days ago so I just used what was left)

Cut beef into strips, pound it thin and then cut the strips into bite-sized pieces if you are using a cheap cut of meat. If you are using a tender cut then you can skip that step. Melt 1 tbs. butter in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until it is translucent. Add beef and brown. Pour out onion, beef and juices into a bowl and set aside. Melt the remaining 3 tbs of butter in the skillet and saute the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are cooked add the Marsala and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add some beef broth if you need to at this point. Pour the beef mixture back into the pan along with the remaining broth, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer, uncovered, until it cooks down a bit and concentrates the flavors. Once the liquid is down below the top of the meat cook your egg noddles. When those are done and drained dish them up and pull the beef off of the stove. Stir in the sour cream and serve over the noodles. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

With only a week and a half before Thanksgiving I am already starting to prepare. This isn't because the traditional Thanksgiving dinner is that hard to prepare, we keep it pretty simple and don't eat until evening which saves me from having to get up at dawn to stick my hand up the rear of a partially thawed turkey. My early prep is not the result of anxiety (this is not my first Thanksgiving dinner by any means), but instead is caused by a mix of excitement and great grocery specials. After all, it's hard not to be excited when the evaporated milk needed to make the pumpkin pie is only $0.19/can and the flour for the rolls is $0.99 for a 5lb bag. Add to that the fact that my sister is coming from "The Frozen North" and that as soon as Thanksgiving is over I get to make Christmas cookies and fudge while gorging on leftovers and it is hard not to be excited. The only thing that I worry about is that my menu might not be up to par. Therefore, I ask all of you in the blog-o-sphere to let me know what you think. Am I missing anything?

About Me

When I graduated high school my friends and teachers thought I was going to be somebody (at least I'm pretty sure they did). I am smart, talented and a great leader (and did I mention humble? ;-)). In college I flitted around from thing to thing never quite finding my niche after my dreams of joining the military were squashed by a combination of injuries, medical issues and falling in love with a man who liked to stay in one place. Eventually I found my calling. No, I'm not a great engineer, or a test pilot, or an astronaut, or even a forest ranger (all jobs I considered). My calling was to be a wife and mother. A job I was and am told is very old fashioned and outdated. A job with poor monetary compensation and crazy hours. A job that, done right, can be the most important one in the world (or at least the world of one small girl). It is the job I am proud to have and I would like to share my adventures with anyone willing to read.